Once again, we continue our 90-in-90 player series. If you missed the previous player breakdowns, you can check them out here.
Name: Garrett Graham
Position: TE
Height: 6'3" Weight: 243
Age: 23 Experience: 7
College: Wisconsin
Denver Broncos Head Coach Gary Kubiak is quite familiar with Garrett Graham. After all, he was selected by Kubiak when he was with the Houston Texans in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
Graham spent five years with the Badgers and saw extensive playing time in his last three seasons at Wisconsin. In the course of his collegiate career, Graham racked up 121 receptions for 1,492 yards and 16 touchdowns. His performance as a senior earned him 1st Team All-Big Ten honors by the media and was 2nd team representative by the voting of coaches.
For a majority of his NFL career, Graham backed up former Texans and Broncos tight end Owen Daniels. Outside of a breakout year in 2013 (Kubiak's last in Houston) where he caught 49 passes for 545 yards and 5 touchdowns, Graham hasn't had quite the impact people expected after a solid collegiate career. In his six years in the NFL, Graham has produced 100 receptions for 1,059 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The Denver Broncos signed Graham to a one-year deal earlier this off-season to compete for playing time with Virgil Green, Jeff Heuerman and undrafted college free agent Henry Krieger-Coble.
The Good: Veteran tight end with an extensive knowledge of Kubiak's offensive system. Had his best season as a pro with Kubiak at the helm in 2013. A jack-of-all-trades, Graham has the ability to be a Flex Y, H-Back type of player who has good hands and shows balance and determination as a blocker. A functional football player who will be able to serve a handful of roles on the 2016 Broncos team.
The Bad: Isn't much of a vertical threat and won't beat defenders deep. Possesses decent athleticism, but his slow release from the line of scrimmage hinders his play-making ability. Not very productive in producing yards after the catch. Has a long list of nagging injuries that have kept him sidelined over the course of his career, moreover he has never finished a complete sixteen game season.
Quotable: "Right now, [I’m] just getting back into things. Whatever I’m asked to do, I’m going to try and do that." — Graham speaking about his role with the team upon joining the Broncos
Status: Given the lack of depth the Broncos have at the tight end position, Graham seems to be a shoo-in to be one of the final 53 players on the roster. Every team needs a versatile role player like Graham, and I expect him to make the team and be able to demonstrate his flexibility in 2016.